Points of View on Point of View

By

Manil Suri

Feb. 8, 2013 8:52 p.m. ET

Novelists will often display a predilection for a particular narrative point of view. Some seem to favor the strength and immediacy of a first-person "I." Others like the intimacy of a second-person "you." Most popular, perhaps, is the objectivity of the third-person "he/she/they." Having now tried on all three, I'm ready to declare a favorite.

For my first novel, the choice was almost automatic. The book sprang from images I'd actually seen: a man named Vishnu dying on the steps of my...